The present invention is directed to a soil opener for cutting a furrow into a planting surface and, more particularly, to a soil opener having a soil gathering module.
Conventional furrow cutting devices are designed to be pulled through the planting surface (“soil”) at speeds between three and five miles per hour. The shape, size, and geometry of the devices is such that the amount of soil thrown as the furrow is cut and the profile about which seed and/or fertilizer is deposited assumes that the implement to which the furrowing devices are attached will be pulled by a tractor, or other towing vehicle, at approximate four miles per hour. If the implement is pulled at higher pull or operating speeds, e.g., eight miles per hour, the soil displaced as the furrow is cut will be thrown much higher and farther outward compared to that when the implement is towed at about four miles per hour.
The increased soil displacement resulting from the furrowing device being pulled through the soil at the higher speeds adversely affects fertilizer and seed placement as the retaining effect of the soil on the product being placed has changed. Moreover, since the displacement of the soil is substantially exaggerated at the higher speeds, less soil is available for covering the furrow after the furrowing forming device has passed. Less soil leads to improper soil covering of the seed and fertilizer as well as more pronounced furrows. Additionally, the draft requirement is increased by the soil to furrowing cutting device interaction.
The present invention is directed to a furrow forming device (“soil opener”) that is suited for use at higher pull speeds, e.g., speeds in excess of five miles per hour. In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the soil opener has a soil gathering module that gathers soil as the soil is lifted by the soil opener and redirects it rearward of the opener as the opener is pulled through the soil. The soil gathering module is comprised of a pair of outward and rearward extending members mounted to opposite sides a frog mount that is used to attach a furrowing tip to a shank of a farm implement. The members may be formed to have tines that cut into the soil as the opener is pulled through the soil and are shaped such that soil is pushed inward toward the center of the furrow. The soil gathering module may be pivotally attached to the frog mount so that the module may pivot in response to contact with field obstructions. In one embodiment, a damper, e.g., spring, is used to provide a consistent downforce on the members as the opener is pulled through the soil.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a soil opener usable at higher speeds.
It is another object of the invention to provide a soil opener that causes less soil disturbance during furrowing of soil and placement of seed and/or fertilizer.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a soil opener that gathers soil lifted during furrowing and redirects the gathered soil rearward of the soil opener.
Other objects, features, aspects, and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the present invention, are given by way of illustration and not of limitation. Many changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the present invention without departing from the spirit thereof, and the invention includes all such modifications.